Some Montana gun owners have asked me where they can actually read LR-130, the November ballot issue to protect our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

I’ll provide a link below to where you can read LR-130 for yourself. But first let me explain what LR-130 does and how to read it.

LR-130 is the result of House Bill 357 having been passed by the 2019 Legislature. HB 357 sets a ballot measure to amend two relevant and existing state laws. When an existing law is amended, language may be added to the law (shown as underlined words), or it can delete language from the law (shown as strikethrough words).

Two current state laws limit cities’ and counties’ authority to regulate firearms, but they are not enough limitation. One law, 7-1-111(9), M.C.A., prohibits local governments from using “any power that applies to or affects the right to keep or bear arms.” BUT, it goes on to say, “‘except that a local government has the power to regulate the carrying of concealed weapons.” LR-130 will remove this “except” clause from the law.

The other law to be amended by LR-130 is 45-8-351, M.C.A. This law generally prohibits local gun control, BUT says that for “public safety purposes” a local government may adopt and enforce gun control measures in several ways. LR-130 will dramatically shorten this list of allowed exceptions. The net effect is that local governments will still be allowed to regulate unpermitted concealed weapons (people carrying concealed illegally inside city limits) and open carry into buildings owned and occupied by governmental entities. That’s it. If LR-130 is successful, local governments will no longer have alleged loopholes to exploit as Missoula tried with its universal background check ordinance and various “gun free zones” concerning “parks” and “public assemblies.”

Some local governments and anti-gun political entities in Montana will likely mount a campaign against LR-130. They may be joined by New York City billionaire Michael Bloomberg and his surrogate entities such as Demanding Moms and Illegal Mayors for Guns. In this opposition, these opponents will almost certainly make up major and scary lies about the effects of LR-130, trying to stampede low-information voters away from LR-130. One predictable lie (they’ve already floated this one) is that LR-130 will permit crazy people to go into schools and kill innocent children. Scary, huh? But, it’s a lie. There is a different, existing law (45-8-361, M.C.A.) that prohibits guns in schools, a law that will not be affected by LR-130. Even though it falls under the general “save the children” category of political argument, this lie is still stupid. How low must be the IQ of someone who believes that bad people who will ignore laws against murder will be aware of and be deterred from their intended mayhem by an obscure city ordinance.

Although the Montana Constitution has a very strong reservation of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, that reservation is useless if any city or county may concoct and enforce local gun control, creating a patchwork of gun control across the state just waiting to entrap an unwary traveler. Thus, 7-1-111 and 45-8-351, as updated by LR-130, are the actual implementation of the RKBA in the Montana Constitution. That’s why LR-130 is so important.

Please explain LR-130 to all your friends and neighbors, at your local gun club, to the staff at local gun stores, and anywhere else you can. LR-130 MUST PASS in November.